As really newlyweds, my husband and I honeymooned in several exotic, romantic places: we started by spending our wedding night in Anderson, Indiana, then traveled to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, sprinted to St. Louis, Missouri, for a claustrophobic ride to the top of the arch, and then headed to Rantoul, Illinois, before we returned to my home town in Indiana, to collect my belongings and head to Virginia, where we’d be living.

And as we pulled out of my mom’s driveway, she—who was not a “crier”—was in tears, and I was suddenly consumed with grief about leaving her, leaving the rest of my family, leaving a stage of life that would never return.

I cried all the way back to Virginia. Like all 15 hours.

And I’ll be honest, it took me a good long while to focus on the joy of being married to someone I loved, instead of zeroing in on my grief. And the truth is, even after 43 years, I have never stopped missing the nearness of my family…but I have learned to appreciate and love Virginia, and the friends and additional family right in front of me.

So, my friend, it’s really been on my heart this season to ask you:
Are you missing someone this Christmas? Especially someone who is not only gone from your presence, but gone from this earth?

Because as we all know, Christmas is a terrible time to be missing someone—not that any time is actually a good time, but in this emotion-laden month, grief can be even more acute.

If you are struggling in this way, I’d love to share a compassionate wakeup call from Beth Moore in this episode. It just might help your heart get through the holiday…and beyond.

Show Notes: 
Moore, Beth. “Do not miss those whom you have because of those whom you miss.”